Marine artillery lighters
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The Navy Artillery Lighters (MAL) of the Kriegsmarine were flat pontoon-like landing craft without a hold and without a loading ramp. The loading was carried out with the help of manually carried track carriers. Contrary to the designation as lighter , they were self-propelled. They were rarely used in their role as landing craft, but mostly provided general replenishment tasks.
development
For the further advance in the Soviet Union, the Army Command was faced with the problem of not having any sea transport capacity , especially in the area of the Caspian Sea and the Sea of Azov . Since there was no way to move marine ferry frames there, boats had to be constructed that could be transported overland in a disassembled state and quickly assembled without the facilities of a shipyard. For this purpose, the MAL, initially still under the name Artillery Motor Lighter (AML), was developed in the Krupp works in Rheinhausen and in September 1942 the first batch of twelve was commissioned. Faults were already apparent in the first missions, which is why the deckhouse was enlarged in a second series of twelve in 1943 to accommodate more crew accommodation and an opening bulwark was attached in the bow to improve seaworthiness. In 1943, an order was placed for an enlarged version with a raised operator's platform and bulwarks on the sides, as well as a significantly higher bulwark to repel rough seas. This was designated as MAL II (corresponding to the previous series then as MAL I and MAL Ia). How many of them were still delivered by the end of the war is unclear, but probably over 60 pieces. They were intended for use in the Mediterranean and the Baltic Sea.
Technical data (MAL I)
The MALs were prefabricated in ten segments that could be transported by rail and even truck. Each part of the body was loaded onto a two-axle open freight car. The armaments, engines and other equipment were loaded onto other freight cars. The parts, which did not weigh more than 18 t, could usually be assembled on site within two days by connecting the parts with simple pin couplings and pouring the joints and bulwarks with concrete. In the stern, the wheelhouse was added as the 10th segment .
MAL had a displacement of approx. 140 t, a length of 34.20 m, a width of 7.72 m and a draft of 0.87 m (empty). It was driven by two Deutz truck engines with outputs of 130 hp each. This achieved a top speed of 8.5 knots and a range of 790 nm (at 8.5 knots).
The planned armament of these vehicles consisted of two 8.8-cm SK C / 35 guns on the upper deck and two 2-cm flak on the wheelhouse. In fact, 3.7 cm flak and 2 cm Flakvierling , as well as prey weapons, were also used. The carrying capacity of a MAL was 80 t. 200 men with personal equipment or two heavy trucks could be loaded or, if the 8.8 cm guns were removed, five to six trucks. Two PzKpfW III or IV medium tanks could also be loaded. The crew consisted of 21 men with reinforced armament up to 29 men.
commitment
Eight MAL I were transferred to the Black Sea after their completion in April – May 1943 . The base of the flotilla was in Sevastopol . They were used from June to October in the fighting in the area of the Azov Sea to supply the army units. But the MAL showed a number of disadvantages when they were first deployed. They were not very seaworthy boats that could only be used in calm weather (swell up to a maximum of 2 to 3). The bad weather was also the reason for the loss of MAL 8 on September 1, 1943 in the Sea of Azov . MAL 2 and MAL 4 were decommissioned and sent back to Sevastopol . They were sunk by their crews themselves at the end of August 1944 off Varna . The remaining five units remained in the Sea of Azov and took part in the evacuation of German troops from the Kuban bridgehead to the Crimea in September – October 1943 . Since bad weather conditions did not allow these boats to be moved to a port in the Crimea, they were blown up on October 29, 1943.
See also
- Unit landing craft
- Pioneer landing craft
- Marine ferry cream
- Marine supply lighter
- War transporter
- Black Sea unit ship
Individual evidence
- ↑ S. Semerdijev: The mysterious fate of Adolf Hitler's "Black Sea Fleet." In: Sea Classics. vol. 40, No.11 / November 2007, pp. 42-49.
- ↑ historisches-marinearchiv.de (found April 3, 2011)